Bowling pin and ball conveying and separating apparatus



ne. 5 A. w. KALBFLEISCH 3,191,933

BOWLING PIN AND BALL CONVEYING AND SEPARATING APPARATUS Original FiledJan. 9, 1959 17 Sheets-Sheet 1 June-29, 1965 A A- W. KALBFLEISCH BOWLINGPIN AND BALL CONVEYING AND SEPARATING APPARATUS Original Filed Jan. 9,1959 17 Sheets-Sheet 2 L a2 ll/ I 34 I J l //5 p I IN VENTO R. (4001 m:w. kdzax-ze/sa/ BYM M I g N r/ j ATTOPNEYS June 29, 1965 w. KALBFLEISCH3,191,933

BOWLING PIN AND BALL CONVEYING AND SEPARATING APPARATUS Original FiledJan. 9, 1959 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VENTOR.

4001p! n4 Mid/Z E/SC/l June 1965 A. w. KALBFLEISCH 3,191,933

BOWLING PIN AND BALL CONVEYING AND SEPARATING APPARATUS Original FiledJan. 9, 1959 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. 4001 M K/MJFlE/SffiAriana/sag;

June 29, 1935 w KALBFLEISCH 3,191,933

BOWLING PIN AND BALL CONVEYING AND SEPARATING APPARATUS Original FiledJan, 9, 1959 1'? Sheets-Sheet 5 I NV ENTOR. IDOL Pl/E IV. #44 8/2 515CBY v ATTORNEYS June 1965 A. w. KALBFLEISCH 3,191,933

BOWLING PIN AND BALL CONVEYING AND SEPARATING APPARATUS Original FiledJan. 9, 1959 17 Sheets-Sheet 6 Fig. 12

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BOWLING PIN AND BALL CONVEYING AND SEPARATING APPARATUS 1'7 Sheets-Sheet'7 Original Filed Jan. 9, 1959 INVENTOR ADOLPl/EMMZJFlE/SCI/ %:3

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BOWLING PIN AND BALL CONVEYING AND SEPARATING APPARATUS Original FiledJan. 9, 1959 17 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR. 400i R45 144 A441 81 2 5/5 fillJune 29, 1965 A. W. KALBFLEISCH BOWLING PIN AND BALL CONVEYING ANDSEPARATING APPARATUS Original Filed Jan. 9, 1959 17 Sheets-Sheet 9 1001P! m AIIJFZ 5/567/ zrmeusva June 29, 1965 w. KALBFLEISCH BOWLING PIN ANDBALL CONVEYING AND SEPARA'I'ING APPARATUS Original Filed Jan. 9, 19591-7 Sheets-Sheet 10 4004 PH! 14 AMZEFZ 5/50/ BY 54%,

June 29, 1965 w. KALBFLEISCH 3,191,933

BOWLING PIN AND BALL CONVEYING AND SEPARATING APPARATUS Original FiledJan. 9, 1959 17 Sheets-Sheet 11 INVENTOR.

400A P! M 4 41 dFl 515C BY 31M;

ITTORNEYS June 29, 1955 A. w. KALBFLEISCH 3,191,933

BOWLING PIN AND B ALL CONVEYING AND SEPARATING APPARATUS Original FiledJan. 9, 1959 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 12 INVENTOR. .4004 P? M AIIBFLE/SC/l June29, 1965 A. w. KALBFLEISCH 3,191,933

BOWLING PIN AND BALL CONVEYING AND SEPARATING APPARATUS 17 Sheets-Sheet13 Original Filed Jan. 9, 1959 llfg. /as

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BOWLING PIN AND BALL CONVEYING AND SEPARATING APPARATUS Original FiledJan. 9, 1959 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 14 JITOAQIVE'YS June 29, 1965 A. w.KALBFLEISCH 3,191,933

BOWLING PIN AND BALL CONVEYING AND SEPARATING APPARATUS Original Filed,Jan. 9, 1959 17 Sheets-Sheet 15 June 29, 1965 A. w. KALBFLEISCH3,191,933

BOWLING PIN AND BALL CONVEYING AND SEPARATING APPARATUS Original FiledJan. 9, 1959 17 Sheets-Sheet 16 INVENTOR. 4004M: m MAJ/2645C June 29,1965 A..W. KALBFLEISCH 3,191,933 BOWLING PIN AND BALL CONVEYING ANDSEPARATING APPARATUS 'original Filed Jan. 9, 1959 v 17 Sheets-Sheet 17CM! 2 a 4 .5 a 7 .9

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ATTORAEYJ United States Patent 3,191,933 BUWLING PIN AND BALL CQNVEYINGAND SEPARATING APPARATUS Adolphe W. Kalbfieiseh, .l'eaunette, Pa,assignor, by mesne assignments, to Robert E. Weber and Adolphe W.Kalbfieisch, trustees Original application Jan. 9, 1959, Ser. No.785,844, now Patent No. 3,048,398, dated Aug. 7, 1962. Divided and thisapplication May 23, 1962, Ser. No. 203,424 'Claims. (Ci.27343) shorterthan standard pins, and their bodies are provided with a projecting bandof resilient material. In bowling, it is not uncommon after one or more,but less than all, pins are knocked down following a first ball to havea pin leaning against one or more fallen pins, and playing rulesgenerally. provide that a leaning pin (a pin is not regarded as fallenso long as its side, which includes the band of a duck pin, doesnottouch the alley) should be reset by swinging it to an upright positionwithout displacing the .point of contact between the base of the pin andthe alley. Generally, leaning pins are disposed more or less crosswiseof the alley.

Still further objects will be apparent from the following description ofthe machine and the accompanying drawings, wherein FIG. 1 is a sideelevation of the assembled machine;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation of the frame of the machine;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the frame of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of the machine,showing the elevator, main carriage, and pin lifting carriage;

FIG. 6 is a partial rear elevation of the view shown in FIG. .5;

FIG. 7 is a plan View of the pin lifting carriage;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged side elevation, partly in section, of a portion ofthe main and pin lifting carriages with the latter in its pin liftingposition;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a portion of FIG. 8;

FIG. 19 is similar to FIG. 16, but with the main and pin liftingcarriages in their extreme forward positions;

FIG. is a plan View of the pin set-ting carriage for setting acomplement of ten bowling pins on the alley;

FIG. 21 is a side elevation of a portion of the pin setting car-riage,showing a pin setting .tube and means for releasably securing a bowlingpin therein;

FIG. 22 is a bottom view of that portionof the apparatus shown in FIG.21;

FIG. 23 .is a schematic view of the means for suspending the pin settingcarriage within the main carriage and of the means for locking andunlocking those two carriages for conjoint and relative verticalmovement;

FIG. 24 is an isometric view of the pit conveyor and of the vertical.pin and ball hoist conveyor for removing pins and balls from the pit;

FIG. 10 is a front elevation, showing the pin lifting fingers erecting aleaning pin;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a portion of the main and pin liftingcarriages, showing mean-s for centering the pin lifters;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a sub-assembly of the main and pin liftingcarriages;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged vertical section taken generally along the centerline of the elevator and the main and pin lifting carriages;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of the cable suspension and actuating meansfor raising and lowering the elevator;

FIG. 15 is a schematic view of the cable actuating means for operatingthe sweep;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged portion of FIG. 13, illustrating the means forreciprocating the main and pin lifting carriages, Which are shown intheir back positions;

FIG. 17 is a plan view of the detail shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a vertical section along the line XVIII- XVIII of FIG. 16;

FIG. 24a is a diagrammatic plan view of the interconnected drive meansfor the pit conveyors and the hoist conveyor and the associated drivenelements shown in FIG. 24; p

FIG. 24b is a diagrammatic rear elevation of the drive means of FIG.24a;

FIG. 25 is a plan view of a portion of the pin storage magazine and ofthe horizontal reach of the pin conveyor hoist, a portion of the latterbeing deleted to give a clear View of one of the pin storage units;

FIG. 26 is a vertical section along the line XXVI-- XXVI of FIG. 25;

FIG. 27 is a vertical section taken along the line XXVII-XXVII of FIG.26;

FIG. 28 is a somewhat diagrammatic view, similar to FIG. 26, showing onepin storage unit receiving a second pin from the pin conveyor.

FIG. 29 is a schematic view of the pin chutes for delivering pins fromthe pin storage magazine to the pin setting tubes; I

'FIG. 30 is an isometric view of the release means for discharging pinsfrom the pin storage pockets;

FIG. 31 is a schematic wiring diagram of the electrical circuit foroperating the apparatus;

FIG. 32 is a chart showing the sequences of operation of the apparatus;and

FIG. 33 is a schematic wiring diagram of the indicator panel showing thestatus of play at any given time during a bowling game.

The bowling in apparatus herein described includes generally pin settingand resetting devices, pin gathering and conveying means, pin storagemeans, and an electrical control circuit. The invention will bedescribed in connection With the handling of duck pins; but it will beunderstood that, except for dimensional changes, it is equallyapplicable to the handling of standard pins and other types of pins.

Pin setting and resetting devices In the drawings, numeral 1 designatesthe pin receiving portion of a bowling alley, the latter terminating ina pit 2 for receiving pins removed from the alley. On each side of thealley are ball gutters 3 and kick backs or sides 4. A main frame 5 spansthe alley and is rigidly mounted on the upper edges of the sides 4. Thisframe includes upright members 6, cross members 7 and top members 8 (seeFIGS. 1-4); it supports the pin setting and resetting devices and thepin storage magazine.

The elevator (see FIGS. 1, 2, and 5 ).--Suspended by cables within theframe is an elevator 10, comprising side bars 11 disposed on each sideof the frame and secured at their ends to sleeves 12. These sleeves areslidably mounted on vertically extending guide rods 13 securedto theupright frame members 6. The elevator has two positions: at top position(shown in FIG. 1), in which the pin handling devices supported by theelevator do not interfere with play, and a bottom position (shown inFIG. 5), in which these same devices are operative to sense the presenceof standing and leaning pins, pick up standing and leaning pins, Whetheron or off their regular spot positions, reset previously standing andleaning pins in their previous on or off-spot positions, or set new pinsin their regular on-spot positions.

The cable suspension for raising and lowering elevator is shownschematically in FIG. 14. The front ends of side bars 11 are supportedby one pair of cables 16 and 17, the back end by a similar pair 18 and19, each pair forming, in effect, an endless cable secured to the sidebars. The cables pass around various sheaves 21 attached to the mainframe, and a portion of each cable, intermediate its ends, is wrappedaround a common Windlass rod 22, which is driven by a reversibleelectric motor ME through a gear reduction 24-. It will be apparent fromthe drawing, without further description, that the elevator will beraised when the Windlass 22 turns in a counterclockwise direction(viewed from the left) and will be lowered when the Windlass is turnedin the opposite direction. To limit the load on the driving motor, theweight of the elevator and of the devices supported by it issubstantially balanced by counterweights 25, which are supported bycables 26 passing over sheaves 27 on the main frame and around sheaves28 on the elevator.

The main carriage (see FIGS. 1, 2, 5-6, 8, 12-13, and 1619).A maincarriage 30 is suspended on rollers 31 from the side bars 11 of theelevator 10 and by means described below, is movable longitudinally ofthe alley into a forward or back position (right and left, respectively,in FIG. 1 and left and right, respectively, in FIGS. 5, 13, and 16-19).This carriage includes a depending frame portion 32, beneath which tenpin clamping pads 33 are mounted on rods 34 slidably received withinsleeves 36, the latter being attached to cross bars 37 of the carriage.Each pad 33 is permitted limited vertical reciprocation, and preventedfrom rotating, by a pin 38 projecting from the side of its supportingrod 34 into a slot 39 in the Wall of the sleeve 36 (see FIG. 8). Eachpad is yieldably held in its downward position by a coil spring 41extending between the top of the pad and its supporting sleeve. Inaddition, the bottom of each pad is preferably provided with a layer ofresilient material 42 to cushion the shock of contact with the head of astanding pin. When the elevator is lowered, each pad resiliently engagesthe head of any standing or leaning pin immediately below it and clampsthe pin under the pressure of springs 41 to the bed of the alley. Thepads are triangularly disposed (see FIG. 12), so that the axes of theirsupporting sleeves 35 will be directly above the regular pin spots whenthe main carriage is in its forward position. Each pad has a broad frontand a tapering rear end (such as theexernplary shape shown in FIG. 12),which observation has shown will enable the pad to clamp leaning orstanding pins that are displaced from their on-spot positions duringnormal play.

The pin lifting carriage (FIGS. 1, 2, 5, .7-11, 13 and 1619).A pinlifting or resetting carriage 50 includes a pair of side rails 51supported by rollers 52 mounted on the main carriage 30, so that the pinlifting carriage may be moved longitudinally of the alley into a forwardor back position relative to and beneath the main carriage 30. The pinlifting carriage also includes four horizontal cross rails 53 ofrectangular cross section, preferably tilted at an angle of about 45.Ten pin lifters 54 are slidably supported on these cross rails bybrackets 56, which ride the rails on flanged rollers 57. These pinlifters are disposed in a triangular array with from one to four pinlifters on each cross rail, as shown in FIG. 7. Each pin lifter includesa pair of lifting fingers 60, having spaced parallel portions 61 forminga throat, and diverging end portions 62. These diverging portions arebent vertically in opposite directions, as shown in FIGS. 5, 8, and 13,to permit pin lifters supported on the same cross rail to overlap tosome degree without interference. The throat of each pin lifter isslightly wider than a pin neck (broken line A in FIG. 9), but narrowerthan a pin head (broken line B in FIG. 9), so that the throat mayloosely receive a pin neck and then lift the pin by its head.

When the elevator 10 is lowered with the main carriage 30 in its forwardpin-clamping position, the pin lifting carriage 50 is initially in itsback position, so that each pn lifter will be behind an adjacentclamping pad 33 and any on or off-spot standing or leaning pin clampedthereunder. By means to be described later, whenever the pin liftingcarriage is returned to this back position, each pin lifter is centereddirectly behind the midpoint of its adjacent clamping pad (i.e.,directly behind a pin spot). When a resetting operation is called forafter a partial knockdown of pins on the first ball, the elevator goesdown (main carriage forward, pin lifting carriage back) to clamp one ormore standing or leaning pins; then the pin lifting carriage movesforward to its front position and any on-spot clamped pin will bereceived directly in the throat of the adjacent pin lifter. If the pinis clamped in an off-spot position, its neck will contact the inner sideof one or the other of the diverging portions 62 of fingers and, sincethe pin is clamped, will center the advancing pin lifter by shifting iton its cross rail, on which it is readily movable, until the neck of thepin is received within the throat. When the elevator is then raised (thepin lifting carriage remaining in its forward position) to permit fallenpins to be swept from the alley, the clamping pads release the standingor leaning pins before the pins are lifted from the alley. To assumethat this will happen, the vertical travel of the pin lifters betweentheir bottom, pin neckreceiving position (elevator down) and theirinitial pin lifting positions (elevator rising and the fingers startingto engage the heads of standing pins) is made greater than the verticaltravel of the clamping pad rods 34 in their sleeves 36. This verticaltravel of the pin lifters can be adjusted by varying the verticaldistance between the pin lifting fingers 60 and the pads 33, by slidingthe pin lifters 54 upward or downward in holes in brackets 56 andsecuring them in the desired position by set screws 63. FIG. 8 shows apin lifter in its initial pin lifting position engaging the head of apin; with the clamping pad 33 already disengaged from the head of thepin.

The features explained in the preceding paragraph perrnit the resettingof leaning pins in accordance with playing rules previously stated. FIG.10 shows a leaning pin 54 supported by a fallen pin and clamped in itsleaning position by one of the pads 33 (not shown). As the pin liftingcarriage is advanced, a diverging finger 62 of a pin lifter 54 contactsthe neck of the leaning pin; and the further advance of the pin liftingcarriage 50 causes the pin lifter to center itself as previouslydescribed and to receive the neck of the leaning pin in the throatbetween fingers 60. When elevator 10 rises, the pad 33 releases the headof the leaning pin before the fingers lift it. Then, as the risingfingers come into lifting engagement with the pin head, their tendencyto drag the base of the pin over the alley until the pin is in an erectposition below the fingers is opposed by the friction between the baseof the pin and the alley, the latter being sufficient to move the pinlifter to the right on its cross rail, thereby tilting the pin into anerect position, as shown by the broken lines in FIG. 10, withoutdisplacing its point of contact with the alley. This operation would notbe possible if the clamping pads did not release the head of the pinbefore it was lifted by the fingers, since the pin would then be clampedbetween the pacll and the fingers, locking the pin lifter on its crossrar When the elevator is in its top position with the pins lifted fromthe alley, a sweep (to be described below) removes fallen pins from thealley and gutter, discharging them into the pit 2. The elevator is thenlowered, with the main and lifting carriages still in their forwardpositions, and the lifted pins are set down on the alley in theirprevious on or off-spot positions (leaning pins being reset in theirerected positions). The reset pins are then clamped to the alley by thepads 33, while the pin lifting carriage is moved to its back position tocompletely disengage the pin lifters from the pins and to recenter thepin lifters for the next operation. The elevator is then raised to itstop posit-ion and play resumes.

By inclining the cross rails 53 on the pin lifting carriage and bymounting the pin lifters thereon as shown in FIG. 8, a pin lifter iseffectively locked on its cross rail after lifting a pin from the alley.This locking feature results from the increased friction between theflanged rollers 57 and the cross rail 53 on which they ride as a resultof the leverage exerted by the full weight of a lifted pin supported inthe throat of the pin lifter. In other words, the construction shownpermits the pin lifters not only to hunt on and off-spot standing andleaning pins and center themselves about the necks of those pins; butalso, once the pins are lifted, to hold them in the desired positionuntil they are reset.

FIG. 11 shows a means for centering each of the pin lifters S t-directlybehind a pin spot whenever the pin lifting carrage St is moved to itsback position relative to the main carriage 3i) after each resettingoperation. Crossed flexible cables as and 67 have one of their endssecured to the pin lifter bracket 57 and their-other ends secured to aforwardly adjacent cross member 37 on the main carriage. The cables areof such length that when the pin lifting carriage is moved to its backposition the cables will tighten and center the pin lifter. When the pinlifting carriage moves forward during a resetting operation, the cablesare slackened so as not to interfere with the lateral freedom ofmovement of the pin lifter on its cross rail within its desired limitsof travel.

The main carriage and the pin lifting carriage (see FIGS; 1619) are bothdriven by the same reversible electric motor MC, which is mounted on arear cross member of the elevator 10. The motor drives a gear reducer 69which has a shaft 7% extending on either side of the gear reducer and issupported at its outer ends by a bearing bracket 71 mounted on theelevator. Adjacent each end of this shaft is secured a pinion gear 72,each inion engaging a separate rack 73 on a portionof a rack bar .74;which extends along the side of the machine and is supported on rollers76 mounted on the bracket '71. The forward end of each'rack bar 74 isattached to the upper end of a post 77 that is part of the pin liftingcarriage. Accordingly, the forward and back reciprocations of the rackbars on each side of the machine will result in a similar reciprocationof the pin lifting carriage.

The pin lifting carriage Ed is locked to the main carriage 34) when thelatter is reciprocated between its front and back positions. Each of theposts 77 passes through a longitudinally extending slot 78 in a guidemember 79 riage is urged forward with the main carriage in its extremefront position. As the pin lifting carriage moves forward, post 77advances in the slot 78 of guide member '79 on the main carriage. Whenthe pin lifting carriage is then retracted to its back position relativeto the main carriage, rearward movement of the latter is prevented by asecond latch means that locks the main carriage to the elevator. Thissecond latch means is provided by a horizontal lever 94, one of which ispivoted on each of the frame members 31 on either side of the maincarriage by a pivot pin 95. Lever 94 has an irregular shape as shown inFIG. 17. A cross piece 96 near the pivoted end of the lever is providedwith projecting end portions 97 and 8. The former cooperates withreverse bend portion 99 in the lever for engagement with post 77extending up from the pin lifting carriage. When the two carriages arelocked together by latch 84, as shown in. FIGS. 16 and 17 with the maincarriage in its front position, further advancement of the pin liftingcarriage first unlocks latch 84, as previously explained. Continnedadvancement of the pin lifting carriage results in forward movement ofthat carriage relative to the main carriage, which remains stationary.Post 77 then strikes the reverse bend portion 99 of lever 94, swingingit on its pivot 95 to occupy the broken line position shown in FIG. 17,so that thelower end 101 of release bracket 92 on the elevator rail 11will be locked behind the lever 5 between the pivot 95 and theprojecting end 93 of that lever. The main carriage is thereby locked tothe attached to one of the side frame members 81 of the maincarriage 3tMounted on the frame member $1 is a latch support 32., on which ismounted a pin 83, pivotally supporting a latch 84 having a downwardlyextend ing notch 86 adapted to receive and lock onto the top end'of post77. Latch 84 also has an upwardly extending trip portion 87, and thelatch is urged intolockmg engagement with the top of post 77 by a spring88 extending between the rear end of the latch and a spring support 89on an upper side frame member 91 of the main carriage.

In order that the pin lifting carriage may move forward relative to themain carriage after the elevator is lowered (with the main carriage inits forward position) to lift and reset standing pins on the alley, aninverted, L- 'shaped latch release bracket 92 is mounted on the insideof each elevator side rail 11. The top horizontal portion 93 of this.bracket is adapted to engage the front,

inclined edge of the trip portion 87 of latch 84 and to release thelatch from post 77 when the pin liftingcarelevator; and it remainslocked until the pin lifting carriage returns to its back position,since post 77 in moving forwards and backwards in slot 78 continuallybears against the free end 162 of lever '94 and maintains that lever inthe broken line, locking position shown in F168. 17 and 19.

When the pin lifting carriage is returned to its back position relativeto the main carriage, post 77 strikes the forward curved edge of latch84 (he-1d in its elevated position by arm 93} on release bracket $2).Further rearward movement causes post 77 to engage projecting arm 97 oflever 94 and to unlock that lever from the lower end 191 of bracket 92,so that the lever reverts to the position shown in solidlines in FIG.17. At the same time, the back of post 77 engages the back of notch 86,and the two carriages are again locked together and are unlocked fromthe elevator rails, so that they can again move in unison between theforward and back positions of the main carriage.

The use of the rack and locking devices described above on each side ofthe main carriage 3t} assures smooth and even translation of the mainand pin lifting carriages from and to their various positions. p

The sweep (see FIGS. 1 and 15).--A sweep is mounted on a projectingframe L11 attached to the main frame 5. This projecting frame includes achannel memher 112, of which the front portion 113 is curved upwardthrough a short are of about 90, while the rest of the channels extendslongitudinally on each side of the main frame. The sweep includes twoside arms 114, connected at their outer ends by a sweep bar 115extending across the alley and gutters. The inner end of each side armis connected to or adjacent to one end of a link 117 and held at a fixedangle thereto by a brace 11-8. One end of link 11-7 is pivotallyconnected to the end of a link 11-9. 'Rollers 121 and 122 are rotatablymounted on link 117,'

and a roller 123 is similarly mounted on-link 119 near its free end.These rollers are received within the channel members 1-12 and 113, sothat the sweep is movable backwards and forwards in the channel membersby cables, as described below. In its forward position, shown in FIG. 1,the sweep is elevated by its linkage and the curved portion of thechannel, so that it does not interfere with play. In its guard position,the sweep arms 1114 are substantially perpendicular to the alley bed,and the sweep bar 115 extends across the alley immediately in front of

5. PIN HANDLING APPARATUS COMPRISING A VERTICALLY EXTENDING FRAME AT THEREAR OF THE PIT, ENDLESS CHAIN MEANS SUPPORTED FOR UPWARD MOVEMENT BYTHE FRAME, A SERIES OF SPACED BUCKET PLATES MOUNTED ON THE CHAIN MEANSFOR UPWARD MOVEMENT THEREWITH, EACH PLATE EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THECHAIN MEANS WITH ONE SIDE OF THE PLATE SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN THE OGHER,WHEREBY A BALL SUPPORTED THEREON WILL TEND TO ROLL OFF THE LOW SIDETHEREOF, FEEDING MEANS FOR FEEDING PINS AND BALLS ONE AT A TIME TOSUCCESSIVE BUCKET PLATES AS THEY MOVE UPWARD WITH THE CHAIN MEANS, PINNUDGING MEANS FOR ENGAGING A PIN THAT IS SUPPORTED SOLELY ON A BUCKETPLATE BUT NOT AXIALLY CENTERED THEREON AND FOR URGING SAID PIN AXIALLYIN THE SAME DIRECTION AS SAID FEEDING MEANS TO A MORE CENTRAL POSITIONON SAID PLATE, SAID PIN NUDGING MEANS INCLUDING AN ENDLESS BELT CONVEYORHAVING AN UPWARDLY INCLINED PORTION MOVING UPWARDLY ADJACENT TO THE PATHTRANSVERSED BY THE EDGES OF SAID BUCKET PLATES, PIN RESTRAINING MEANSFOR PREVENTING A PIN FROM ROLLING OFF A BUCKET PLATE, AND BALLRESTRAINING MEANS FOR PREVENTING A BALL FROM ROLLING OFF THE LOW SIDE OFA PLATE, THE BALL RESTRAINING MEANS BEING OPERATIVE ONLY TO APREDETERMINED HEIGHT ABOVE THE PIT, WHEREBY BALLS WILL BE DISCHARGEDFROM THE PLATES AND SEPARATED FROM THE PINS WHEN THE PLATES ARE RAISEDABOVE THAT HEIGHT.